preserving moments

“You make a big difference…”

“You make a big difference in a lot of people’s lives” - Rosie Before I could walk out the door of my client’s house, she embraced me with these loving words. Five days before this, Rosie wasn’t feeling so warm and fuzzy; She was grumpy, fatigued and only focused on her never ending to-do lists. Instead of welcoming the satisfaction of the transformation, Rosie focused on her remaining chores.  She was lacking presence, perturbed and stuck in worry mode. Can you relate to Rosie right now? If so, continue reading. I was once in Rosie’s position too and always focused on the next task, next project, next activity for my girls…. I literally would lie in bed at night revising mental to-do lists, in place of sleep, relaxation and quality time with my family. This led to pure exhaustion in the morning, stumbling through the kitchen after having hit snooze 1308408 times…. And that unfortunately put me into a ball of shame and guilt. [...]

By |2023-01-09T16:33:54+00:00January 9, 2023|Uncategorized|

Don’t drag emotional truckloads with you

Did you know the average American car owner buys 9.4 cars in a lifetime? Imagine if you parked every car you ever owned in your driveway or garage? How much space would that occupy? And what if they can no longer be driven? Do you keep the broken down ones, bring them with you if you were to take a job or retire across the country? Of course not!  The added expense and logistical annoyances are too great to consider this. Trade in, sell or donate them and welcome the space for vehicles that serve you.  And yet it happens all the time with our captured memories; Our photos and memorabilia are completely irreplaceable if they were to be lost, so we literally drag 'emotional carloads' from one place to another until we either decide to UPDATE the formats, edit them down, or do the unthinkable; Toss them out! Some see little value in these captured moments, but let's be honest- That's not the [...]

Demo to Delivery; Kindness shines brightly

MORE KINDNESS: It’s the soothing emotion that calms a feeling of need. It’s the gold bottle of water from a Lyft driver on a hot summer day. It’s reminiscing over a rediscovered moment, for the purpose of letting a grandchild know their late grandfather better. It’s the card my grandmother wrote me when I was away at college, that I keep in my old Bible so I find it when I open it each time and her voice is immediately brought back to mind by the sight of her handwriting. That's one way I practice kindness for myself; I allow that memory to continue to bless and affirm me. In my work, I love witnessing and delivering moments of kindness through my clients' rediscovered memories. That’s why I love #DeliveryDay. Kindness is the current that flows, but it doesn’t happen instantly. Much happens behind the scenes before #DeliveryDay can happen. Speaking of "behind the scenes," those close to me can attest to my love and adoration [...]

Where is it?

After over two decades of working with client photos, I’m rarely surprised when I hear someone describe the frustrated state of their photos. They’re all unique to the individual, however there are always common threads of frustration that unite a large concentration of photo lovers. The common pain point I’m referring to is “Not finding what someone’s looking for” and I feel for them. Do you count yourself among that group of people? Strangely, the solution is often overlooked when a particular moment is rediscovered. We celebrate when we find a particular memory (woot woot!) but do we go a step farther to avoid that situation from happening again? Or do we move on to the next subject, and dismiss the time and energy wasted? The problem that lurks in the shadows of our captured moments and the root of the “not finding” pain remains, and possibly deepens if we don't make a shift in our systems. Who knows if you’ll be that successful [...]

By |2022-06-13T22:55:33+00:00June 13, 2022|finding help, managing photos, photos, Uncategorized|

Wait-“Replaceable & Duplicatable Albums”? Are you kidding, Kris?

NO, I'm not kidding. This is a thing. And if you never considered this, allow me to explain... If you've been around long enough to hear my story about a garage fire that threatened to take my home along with all of my photo, video memories away, you already know why I made it part of my mission to protect these tangible treasures. This is part of the insurance I love to deliver my clients. The ability to not only replace, but reproduce albums so they can be preserved and shared with more than those who have the originals in their hands. Here are some examples of when digitizing albums has been the go-to solution for some of my clients: Families who are re-organizing, splitting up or transitioning to more than one home. Giving reprinted, streamlined copies to grandchildren, relatives and loved ones, Sending digital printed copies to seniors moving into senior housing with smaller spaces, Downsizing individuals who simply don't have space in [...]

By |2022-05-20T17:04:10+00:00May 23, 2022|capturing moments, digitizing, Photo Tips, Uncategorized|

6 Ways to Slice a Pie (manage your memories)

I love a good metaphor... Let's slice this pie and enjoy the sweet rewards!!! May people have an assortment of memory formats- whether films, slides, printed photos, films, video tapes, flash drives, all sorts of digital memory cards and it’s crazy how quickly they collect and grow in numbers. Clutter and overwhelm are frequent occurrences in these situations. When enough is enough and you really are sick and tired of the situation, there are strategic approaches to delegating some tasks to professionals while the owner/family are making decisions on what to keep and what excess may be tossed. My hope is that this gives you a much needed leg up in this process. This approach will keep you moving forward with the most efficiency and get you to the finish line in half the time.  This is what I do with/ for my private clients and occasionally  some get started in this method and decide to hand it all off to me. Others do [...]

By |2022-05-17T02:13:46+00:00May 16, 2022|digitizing, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos|

Happy National Photography Month

Officially recognized by Congress in 1987, National Photography Month is a time to celebrate photography as an art form, the history of photography, and taking selfies on your phone. OK for me, I actually think every month, week day and year is cause to celebrate photography, but it’s really cool to know congress made it official. I feel like I should be giving you posts and content to support your use of photos or something… oh, yeah… I already do!!! OK I’ll stop being silly and get to the good stuff. YOU AND YOUR PHOTOS.  In honor of National Photography Month, I’d love to celebrate YOU, YOUR photo art, YOUR history in photo, and YOUR best selfies. Seriously. THIS IS YOUR INVITATION to engage with me a little on Facebook for some month-long sharing! I am going to feature two photos you share each week, and from those featured, I’ll select a winner in June, with a Reminiscence prize to be awarded on National [...]

By |2022-05-06T21:39:53+00:00May 9, 2022|community, photos, Sharing Photos|

3 tips for better outdoor photos

Have you ever been at a gathering, and did your best to snap photos only to later discover you had people squinting, severe shadows causing distortion, or a sun glare that made it impossible to see faces? Here are three key tips to help avoid those outcomes, to make the light work FOR you rather than work AGAINST you. PLACEMENT matters: Whenever possible don’t snap photos in direct bright sunlight. The key is to avoid squinting eyes and harsh distorting shadows by moving to shade; more specifically indirect lighting. Caution: watch out for sunlight patches that filter through foliage and window panels… make sure there are no bright spots that blow out the color, or lacy shadows that distort one’s face as much as the severe ones in direct sunlight. DIRECTION matters: Do not take photos TOWARDS the sun… RATHER, let the sun be on your subject and behind the photographer. Same applies to lamps, lights, and windows… look for ways for [...]

By |2022-04-18T19:57:47+00:00April 11, 2022|capturing moments|
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